I'm struggling to understand the chemical reaction that affects people's brains when they put on some lycra.

Here's a photo I took thisafternoon:




The council even tried to camouflage the cycleway with asphalt... obviously not fooling this fine fellow.

Can someone explain to me what's going on?

Are you complaining that a cyclist is riding on the road for cars?

If so, you are obviously not a bike rider, the bike lanes are usually full of glass, gravel, bits of cars etc.....you ride in them all the time you get punctures!

divaldo said...

Are you complaining that a cyclist is riding on the road for cars?

If so, you are obviously not a bike rider, the bike lanes are usually full of glass, gravel, bits of cars etc.....you ride in them all the time you get punctures!

I have to agree with Divaldo. As no one cleans the bike lanes of glass there is usually heaps and all the other rubbish that comes out of cars.

Funnily enough, cars going over the road seems to keep it clear of glass, so it is better to ride on. Especially if you have light weight road tyres and you don't want to stop and repair punctures.

I on the other hand have Armidillo tyres on my road bike which so far(!) have resisted punctures even when riding over lots of glass... Supposedly they have some Kevlar in them to make them puncture resistant, but alas are a bit heaver than other tyres.

Ive always wondered why bikes are allowed to be riden on the side of the road?
They are not registered.
Is it legal to ride a skateboard on the side of the road?

Greenroom said...

Ive always wondered why bikes are allowed to be riden on the side of the road?
They are not registered.

Why do you think they should be registered? They don't do much (any?) damage to the road, so I think it would be hard to argue there is that much of a cost from them.

I'm sure if there was enough money in it the government would try and get them registered if only to make a few dollars.

I imagine most people that ride also have a car that's registered. Does that make up for the bike not being registered? I can't ride my bike and drive my car at the same time. In fact I have two cars now, down from 3. Why do I have to pay rego on all of them when I can only drive one at a time?

Greenroom said...

Can I borrow the forklift at lunch to duck down to the corner deli?
Its not registered.

So are you talking about whether a vehicle is registered or whether it is suitable for being on the road?

I imagine if it was a human powered forklift and not likely to do much damage to other vehicles you would have no problems. What is it about a bike that you don't like?

I agree there are the occassional w@nkers on bikes on the road, but if you are a half reasonable driver they don't normally slow you down too much.

No Rego, no insurance, they are lucky to have a bike lane ... so use it, or go ride around the goverment funded vellodrome all day

evlPanda said...

They need frickin' laser beams:
What is with the puncture vs death argument?

What I really hate is when they ride side-by-side and take up a full half of the lane, across a two-lane bridge.

You get used to riding on the road, as where I am there aren't many cycleways anyway. Where there are, I tend to use them.

From my own limited experience, when you are riding single-file motorists tend to ignore you and go close to side-swiping you. When you are riding two abreast they notice you more and go around you. You have a choice; risk being squeezed between the side of the bridge and a car, or slow down a driver for less than a minute.

That said, you need to use common sense as well.

I have seen people on bikes riding 4 abreast on the edge of a major highway. I think these same people that were unaware of how dangerous that was, would also be driving cars with the same unperceptive attitude.

One of the things that surprises me is when you are riding in the left most lane of two lanes each way, cars that have sat in the right hand lane the whole time seem to feel some compulsion to pull into the left hand lane in front of you just after they pass you. I can't figure out if they only realise they are in the right hand lane for no reason when they see the bike, or whether they feel a sense of accomplishment by being in front of someone...

I think the thing that gets most car drivers is that bike riders want the same rules as car drivers but then blatantly disregard said rules when it comes to traffic lights, pedestrian crossings etc.
I dont know how many times you go past a roadie, pull up at a red light and then watch as they go straight through. No wonder drivers get p****d off.
I saw a guy nearly bowl over an old bloke going across a pedestrian crossing. He didnt even slow down approaching it and then swerved when he nearly hit the old bloke. He just kept on going oblivious, it rattled the old fella.
Same as people riding 2-3 abreast, fair enough but when they are cruising along talking to each other or on a phone then thats just that "I dont give a s**t" attitude too many people have today.
My 2 bob's worth.

Cyclists have superior moral rights. They can do what ever they want in the sure knowledge that they are going to heaven when they die - a bit like suicide bombers.

I know what you mean, people do some crazy things at night!

Check out these bozos:

If only I had more than the one green thumb to give.... a few of these replys would get em !!!

ka43 said...

I think the thing that gets most car drivers is that bike riders want the same rules as car drivers but then blatantly disregard said rules when it comes to traffic lights, pedestrian crossings etc.
I dont know how many times you go past a roadie, pull up at a red light and then watch as they go straight through. No wonder drivers get p****d off.
I saw a guy nearly bowl over an old bloke going across a pedestrian crossing. He didnt even slow down approaching it and then swerved when he nearly hit the old bloke. He just kept on going oblivious, it rattled the old fella.
Same as people riding 2-3 abreast, fair enough but when they are cruising along talking to each other or on a phone then thats just that "I dont give a s**t" attitude too many people have today.
My 2 bob's worth.

Yeah Grant, I get pissed off by this sort of behavior too. It does as you have said and makes motorists get annoyed. I have been embarrassed on group rides when others have just gone through lights while I sat there acting like a loser, waiting for the lights...

I remember when I used to drive to the city for work and there was this idiot on a bike that would be doing a fair pace, but then overtake all the cars standing still at the lights, only to have them have to sit behind him and then overtake him. Of course, he kept this up for every set of lights. I don't know if these guys realise that this sort of action pisses of car drivers and causes problems down the track.

I have to say though, at the end of the day a lot of people in cars don't realise how vulnerable people on bikes are. Some think it's a game trying to intimidate riders, but who are you kidding when you are in a one tonne safe metal box trying to intimidate someone riding a bike that weighs 10kgs?

nebbian said...

I'm struggling to understand the chemical reaction that affects people's brains when they put on some lycra.

Here's a photo I took thisafternoon:




The council even tried to camouflage the cycleway with asphalt... obviously not fooling this fine fellow.

Can someone explain to me what's going on?

Nebs what you may not realise is that most cyclists that are serious enough to get kitted out with lyra andspend big $'s on a bike travel quite fast approx 30km/hr. It is very dangerous riding on a cycle way as the leasure cyclist just cruises along at 15km/hr. This in its self is a way more dangerous that riding on the road.

I ride quite a bit (in lycra) and always ride on the road. Foot paths with walkers(with dogs) and kids/familys on bikes is no place for cyclist on a modern road bike.

Its the same as you or me speed sailng through the a class of begginers leaning to windsurf.

Cyclists need to be treated the same as a slow moving vehicle.

Bender you make some good points, and I agree that bikes of any kind don't belong on footpaths.

I'm about to have a go at some of the points you raised, but I'm not having a go at you. These points seem to be raised by most cycling enthusiasts that I meet (apart from the windsurfing comparison)

It is very dangerous riding on a cycle way as the leasure cyclist just cruises along at 15km/hr. This in its self is a way more dangerous that riding on the road.

Lycra-clad cyclists seem to have a skewed appetite for risk. If you were given the choice of potentially colliding with a mass of 90kg travelling at 15km/hr, vs 1500kg travelling at 60km/hr.. honestly which do you think would cause more damage?

Its the same as you or me speed sailng through the a class of begginers leaning to windsurf.

I agree. If I were out blasting around and doing speed runs, I'd go around the beginners, or abort the run if I saw someone about to get in the way. Much like a cyclist travelling on his/her speed gear at 30km/hr could easily choose to slow down / go around the slow pokes on the pupose-built cycle paths.

Cyclists need to be treated the same as a slow moving vehicle.

I disagree. I'd say that, like other posters have already mentioned, cyclists need to show more respect to other road users, pedestrians and for the rules of the road.

If cyclists want to be treated the same as a 'slow moving' vehicle then they should be prepared to pay for CTP insurance, and undertake a licensing test to demonstrate that they understand the rules of the road. If they get caught breaking those rules then they should be fined and have demerit points recorded against their licence, just like any other road user.

I know some will ask "why should cyclists using the road pay CTP insurance?" I have 2 examples..

1) About 3yrs ago a 7yo girl was crossing in a school zone (near my house) with the lollipop lady stopping the traffic.. cyclist figured he didn't have to follow the rules.. so he went around the stopped cars.. and knocked the girl to the ground.

2) another incident I saw recently was a narrow miss between a cyclist probably doing 50km/hr (downhill), and a mother pushing her pram. She was already halfway across the road and probably hadn't seen the cyclist, but instead of slowing down, this w@nker keeps his speed up, screams abuse at the woman and misses the pram by inches.

Granted some cyclists aren't road hogs and do move over when they hear vehicles approach from behind, they know and follow the rules of the road but unfortunately these appear to be the blessed few and exceptions to the norm.

For the record I dislike Perth drivers equally as much as Perth cyclists (generalising of course), but that's another topic all on it's own

myusernam said...

And do you cyclists really need to shave your legs??? Or do you just take up cycling cos you'd like to shave your legs and wear lycra and want to stay in the cupboard?

Ahh, I know your Avatar suggests you are a really good looking woman, but you really should stop going around looking at (I'm assuming) male cyclist's legs. Why do you find them so fascinating? Is it just that you prefer the more butch look of hairy legs?